Schoonover John D KIT FOX IV 1200 accident near St. Lucie, FL
On April 14, 2013, a Schoonover John D KIT FOX IV 1200 (airplane) was involved in an accident near St. Lucie, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 14, 2013
- Place
- St. Lucie, FL
- Aircraft
- Schoonover John D KIT FOX IV 1200 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 27.238°N, 80.475°W
- NTSB ID
- 20130414X04421
Official records · ERA13FA201
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 14, 2013, about 0815 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Kit Fox IV 1200, N117S, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain while attempting to land at Treasure Coast Airpark (FL37), Port St. Lucie, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. A number of witnesses saw portions of the flight, but no one saw all of it. According to some of the witnesses, the airplane took off from runway 27, turned to the north, then circled back to a left downwind for a landing on the same runway. One witness, also a pilot, noted that during the downwind leg, the airplane was "very close in" to the runway. He also noted that although the airplane had taken off in conditions that were a "little hazy," he subsequently saw it "popping through clouds" on the downwind leg until his view was blocked by a house. Another witness stated that, as the airplane turned toward the final approach to the runway, she saw the nose drop, and that the airplane then headed "straight down" before she lost sight of it behind a tree line. Multiple witnesses also reported hearing the engine operating at a high power level without any anomalies. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 62, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. He also held an experimental aircraft builder repairman certificate. His latest FAA third class medical certificate wa
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn to final, which resulted in an exceedance of the wing’s critical angle-of-attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s combined use of two sedating antihistamines, which resulted in his impairment.
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
